Who Has Better HD PQ Today - Dish or DirecTV?

[skyviewmark]

Bingo. Some HD channels on Dish are barely watchable such as NatGeo HD. Pixellates all the time. (And no, its not my signal strength)

I have no channels on Dish that are barely watchable.. Except of course for content on some of them.. But no issues with pixelation anymore than I have on my DirecTV system. Both systems have some issues with this. But none that make any channel unwatchable..

 

[RandallA]

If it is not you signal strength, it must be something on your end. I do not get any pixelation on NatGeo.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-network-technical-discussions/142763-problem-1-hd-channel.html

It's a small pixelation and sound drop outs, nothing major but enough to be annoying.

 

[hayesjd]

Directv's DVR

Can those of you who have Directv's hd dvr tell me if their dvr has the picture in picture and swap capability of Dish's 622?

 

[skyviewmark]

Can those of you who have Directv's hd dvr tell me if their dvr has the picture in picture and swap capability of Dish's 622?

No they do not. A very serious deficiency if you ask me.

 

[whatchel1]

Premature?

Is this comparison a little premature? How can we be comparing the 2 systems when Ciel 2 isn't up and running yet? There is still a bandwidth differnce that will be helped on E*'s side once the new sat takes over. Am I not correct in this?

 

[Ronnie-]

Is this comparison a little premature? How can we be comparing the 2 systems when Ciel 2 isn't up and running yet? There is still a bandwidth differnce that will be helped on E*'s side once the new sat takes over. Am I not correct in this?

While I am not sure what the new sat will do to the overall usable bandwidth capacity of E, I dont think it is premature at all. Things change constantly in the sat landscape when it comes to things like this. Yes, this sat will go online, and possibly help, just like D10 and D11 did the past year or so for D* (and D12 sometime later). Comparing what is now is what the OP seemed to want to know.

 

[AdamGott]

Many are insistent DirecTV is better. Others see no difference. I suspect it is partly do to what skyview says, the HR's do a better job of outputting the HD signal. I also think it has something to do with individual TV setting. Anyone who has compared DirecTV and Dish on the same TV, have you set up a test pattern and reoptimised your TV's settings? I suspect most haven't.

You took the words out of my mouth! I would like to see someone do a comparison like this and post/publish the results.

 

[JEFFinINDY]

The fact is, you'll get some people saying DirecTV looks better, but you'll get none saying Dish looks better. That should tell you your answer.

Yes. The answer is there are a lot insecure D* fanboys on this site.

 

[skyviewmark]

Yes. The answer is there are a lot insecure D* fanboys on this site.

Personally I am not a D* fanboy. I have been a Dish Dealer for many more years than I have sold D*. I think Dish is hands down a better service, with a DVR that so far is untouchable by anyone. But the fact remains. I get a more vibrant picture on my DirecTV HR21 unit.. This is not a discussion about which service is better and which has what.. It is strictly about the quality of the picture.

 

[Poke]

Yeah overall I think the PQ about the same I mean most of the time PQ will remain on the Networks end. It all depends on the Channel and what kind of Hardware they are using. Some are better than others so forth.. But I think Dish has better Hardware in their HD Receivers and DVR's. The New 922 HDDVR is just a perfect example to me that Dish has the best hardware on the market. Just my 2 cents..

 

[rickaren]

Having both services I vote DISH, however viewing Locals OTA with the AM21 off-air turner from DirecTV is fantastic. I read reviews that it contains the best turners available and I believe it. However since it cost $50 they should be good. What do you think OTA turners cost in a DVR that has them, maybe less than one dollar?

 

[BuddyBoy]

I don't think the PQ on Dish is noticeably bad, but they are really pushing the limits of low bitrate high-def H.264. I recorded a two-hour PPV and the resulting file was 4GB (not even 5Mbits/sec, though it was animation, which requires less bitrate for the same PQ). I also recorded the final episode of Stargate Atlantis (which I thought had pretty decent PQ) and it was 2.7GB (just over 6Mbits/sec). In contrast, picture quality The Dark Night VOD was superb (not Blu-ray, but better than any broadcast HD I've ever seen), so I'd guess maybe as high as 12Mbits/sec there.

 

[peano]

If it is not you signal strength, it must be something on your end. I do not get any pixelation on NatGeo.

PVR some HD and watch more closely.

 

[DishSubLA]

Many are insistent DirecTV is better. Others see no difference. I suspect it is partly do to what skyview says, the HR's do a better job of outputting the HD signal. I also think it has something to do with individual TV setting. Anyone who has compared DirecTV and Dish on the same TV, have you set up a test pattern and reoptimised your TV's settings? I suspect most haven't.

Anyone know if they (HR series and VIP series) have the same Broadcom chip, and better still, if the 922 will feature a new and improved chip?

There is something to your point about how well a box outputs or otherwise presents a superior PQ because I have confirmed to my slight horror that the dreaded, trouble-some Dish 222 has a noticeably superior HD PQ than the 722. The 222 PQ looks more vibrant, pops out at you a bit more, color more vibrant, is more "clear" while the 722 by comparison looks softer with less detail than the 222.

The difference was so noticeable that for some time (both boxes are hooked up to the same TV and input--and I switched cables, inputs, etc. to confirm this) I thought my TV settings were different until I realized that it was the 222 itself that was providing a superior PQ. I relly do notice the difference and can immediately can tell which box I am viewing and enjoy the PQ more on the 222, and when I return to the 722 for DVR, my heart sinks a bit.

Finally, some have claimed that the 622 has a slightly superior PQ than the 722.

 

[rtperryal1]

Originally Posted by whatchel1
Is this comparison a little premature? How can we be comparing the 2 systems when Ciel 2 isn't up and running yet? There is still a bandwidth differnce that will be helped on E*'s side once the new sat takes over. Am I not correct in this?

While I am not sure what the new sat will do to the overall usable bandwidth capacity of E, I dont think it is premature at all. Things change constantly in the sat landscape when it comes to things like this. Yes, this sat will go online, and possibly help, just like D10 and D11 did the past year or so for D* (and D12 sometime later). Comparing what is now is what the OP seemed to want to know.

Ok, Ciel 2 has been up and running for some time. Most from this thread had stated Direct had slightly better PQ than Dish when making direct comparison. Does anyone now see any improvement of Dish PQ compared to Direct?

 

[gcs_78]

Ok, Ciel 2 has been up and running for some time. Most from this thread had stated Direct had slightly better PQ than Dish when making direct comparison. Does anyone now see any improvement of Dish PQ compared to Direct?

I have E* and don't know about the comparison to D*, however I can see a great inprovement in E* PQ since the move to Ciel 2.

 

[peano]

Thats probably because your signal is not dropping out now with Ciel 2.

Dish Network has not reduced the downrezzing on their HD channels.

 

[MikeD-C05]

There is something to your point about how well a box outputs or otherwise presents a superior PQ because I have confirmed to my slight horror that the dreaded, trouble-some Dish 222 has a noticeably superior HD PQ than the 722. The 222 PQ looks more vibrant, pops out at you a bit more, color more vibrant, is more "clear" while the 722 by comparison looks softer with less detail than the 222.


Finally, some have claimed that the 622 has a slightly superior PQ than the 722.

I really noticed that the 722 had better pq than the 622 that it replaced. I'm getting a 722k this week and I wonder if I will see better pq than the 722 ?

 

[Ronnie-]

Ok, Ciel 2 has been up and running for some time. Most from this thread had stated Direct had slightly better PQ than Dish when making direct comparison. Does anyone now see any improvement of Dish PQ compared to Direct?

I have not had a chance to check as of late. I will as soon as I can and will report back:up

 

[RandallA]

I really noticed that the 722 had better pq than the 622 that it replaced. I'm getting a 722k this week and I wonder if I will see better pq than the 722 ?

I agree, the 722 has better picture quality than the 622. They're probably using different and newer chips. Most likely the 722k has a newer chip also.